Fake GrubHub Driver Delivers Pizza, Steals Puppy: Police

Police in Florida have arrested a food delivery driver for stealing a customer’s puppy.

Security footage captured the moment 22-year-old Arlinson Chilito, appeared to walk into a Jacksonville Beach condo with a pizza — and walk out with a teacup poodle stuffed into the same bag.

Owner Rick Block told News4Jax his wife had ordered a pizza on GrubHub on Saturday, and it had promptly arrived without issue.

It wasn’t until afterwards they realized their beloved ten-month-old pet, named Lexi, had vanished.

After calling Jacksonville Beach Police Department, it didn’t take them long to figure out what had happened; replaying the CCTV, they said the pup slipped out while Chilito was delivering the food.

“Chilito grabbed the puppy and hid her in the delivery bag,” they said. “Chilito then intentionally exited the condominium bypassing the lobby night staff on duty.”

Investigators tracked him down to his residence in Jacksonville, where they said they found both him and the missing pup.

He was arrested and charged with Grand Theft, and is currently being held in Duval County Jail.

Lexi meanwhile was reunited with her relieved owners.

After contacting GrubHub, the company revealed that Chilito was not and never had been a contractor for the company; he was using someone else’s account.

While the company claimed they were not aware of the switch, they seemed to think the owner of the account was aware, and the company is banning him and calling for him to be prosecuted, too.

“We are shocked and appalled by this behavior, and there is absolutely no tolerance for it on Grubhub,” a company spokesperson told the broadcaster.

“We confirmed the individual charged with this crime was not a Grubhub driver and has never been contracted with us. He was using another contracted driver’s account without Grubhub’s permission or knowledge, which is a fraudulent misuse of our platform.”

“We banned the driver permanently from our platform and support efforts to prosecute both individuals to the full extent of the law.”

The company added it runs rigorous background and vehicle checks before contracting any driver, and is continuously reviewing policy to try to combat fraud and ensure customer safety.

A very grateful Rick Block said hundreds of people had been out looking for the puppy before they figured out she had been snatched.

He had initially offered a $5,000 reward for her safe return; he said he now plans to donate this to the Jacksonville Beach police lodge as a way of saying thank you.